Taken
by hummingbird7
Summary: Buffy/Angel story. Buffy finds out a dark secret about her neighbors and wants to help.


Buffy Summers felt as though she had been sucker punched... She felt like throwing up, she wanted to be able to just catch her breath... Something. Her mind raced as she tried to put together how long it must have been between laughing as she said goodbye to Connor and finding the note he had left her to find. Had it been 10 minutes? Maybe closer to 20?

Buffy's hands shook as she attempted to read it over one more time, then another. It was less than half of a page, he'd ripped part of one of the pages from the Create Your own Comic book she had gotten him for his latest birthday and the words were unmistakably in his handwriting on the plain white backside. It had been folded crookedly 4 times and left at the corner of her laptop.

Unsure of what to do... She took several deep breaths and attempted to stand on her shaky legs, walking slowly to the bathroom she made herself breathe in and out slowly several times, washed and dried her face, and practiced being calm and collected in the large mirror above the sink several times before she felt like she could do this.

Buffy made her way next door and smiled brightly at Daniel when he opened the door. "Hi, Danny," she greeted.

"Buffy."

She kept her voice steady and friendly. "I hate to bother you, Danny, but I was wondering if I could borrow Connor again for just a few minutes. I forgot I had bought this closet organizer shelf thing earlier and I was going to ask him if he could help me figure it out. I haven't even gotten it out of the trunk of my car yet and I'm surprised I even remembered it at all."

He seemed to think about it for a moment then leaded back a little into the house and called for Connor. "Hey, son, you got a few more minutes to spare for Miss Summers?"

Connor almost looked panicked at first she noted, but quickly got control of it. The teenager shrugged, "I guess."

Connor followed Buffy down his driveway and stepped over to hers about halfway down, she hit the button on her key ring to make the garage door open and waved once more to Daniel before leading the teen inside. She let it close, walked up to the door and stepped inside her mud room, walked past it, the kitchen and into the dining room before spinning around. "What in the hell Connor?!" He put his hands in his pocket. "Is this a joke?" Lord, help both of them if he was pulling some dumb ass stunt. Because she knew him as well as she did was the only reason she hadn't called the police already.

"No," he said quietly, looking at the floor.

She waited but he said nothing else at the time. "Connor! You can't just leave someone a note saying that you aren't this person I think you are and ask me for help and not be willing to give me a little more information!"

"I... Uh, I... I'm sorry? I shouldn't have left that. I don't know what I was thinking... Could you please forget about it?"

Buffy stared at him for a long moment, her eyes as wide as saucers. She threw her hands up in the air and walked over to snatch up the note he'd left and stalked back to him. "My name is not Steven Connor Holtz, my name is Connor William Roark," she read, her hand shaking again. "Daniel Holtz is not my father," she continued. "Please help me."

"I'm sorry, Buffy."

"Sweetheart, I don't want you to be sorry. I want to know what in the hell is going on. Is this true?"

She didn't think he was going to answer at first then his eyes met hers and he nodded briefly. "I... I barely remember now... But he's not my dad, Buffy."

* * *

Before today, Buffy Summers had never been inside of a police station and certainly had never been through anything like she was now. She felt like it was nearly an out of body experience as the afternoon turned to evening and into late in the night. She didn't know how many times she had told the same story... stories... now and to how many difference members of the police force.

She had gone over her whole life until she felt dizzy. She had told countless people every possible thing she knew about Daniel and Connor Holtz.

For three years she had lived next to the quiet single father and his teenage son. She remembered the very first time she had even seen them as they'd first pulled into the drive way of the town home next to her, she remembered the first time they spoke a couple days later when she finally decided to go introduce herself. She remembered thinking the 13 year old seemed distant but then again he was a 13 year old boy moving into a new place... It made sense. Nothing had ever stood out as strange to her. Never.

Over the years she'd developed a friendly relationship with her closest neighbors. She had an extra key to their house in case they got locked out, and they had one for her. They'd kept an eye on her place when she'd gone on short vacations in the summer. She'd taken Daniel to work many times when his car would act up, dropped Connor after school when he had missed the bus... she'd had dinner with them more times than she could remember... she'd been to every birthday party and school activity of Connor's she had been invited to... it just went on and on and she couldn't help but keep begging her mind to remember more and more.

Part of her kept begging her mind to remember something that ever felt out of place, and the other part of her thought her heart would shatter if she actually remembered anything that had ever given her pause and she had just ignored it.

She had been asked over and over why Connor had come to her, why today, why her, why why why. As if she knew! Connor had been finishing up mowing her yard when she had gotten home from work. He smiled brightly at her and waved as she drove around to the other side of the house, parked her car in the garage and went inside. She had popped her head out the front door to let him know she'd make him a snack and pay him for helping out when he was done. He'd come inside, gotten cleaned up some, talked with her while she finished making some homemade crunch wraps about how school had been today and sat at the bar of her kitchen while she took a seat at the table and they ate. She had paid him for mowing the yard as well as extra for helping her paint some accent walls over the weekend and that was really about it.

Buffy told person after person she didn't remember seeing Connor with the paper, she didn't remember him near her laptop... Closest she could recall was him walking into the living room to ask her about something being advertised on a tv commercial and guessed that was when he'd placed it there.

Why... Well, that's one of the many questions she had herself and could not answer.

* * *

Buffy popped her knuckles a few times then started to type... Stopping and starting a few times before she got it out. "Connor William Roark."

"Did you mean Connor William O'Roarke?" the search engine asked... Exactly as it had the first time she had type the name in. She clicked on the blue lettering and it reloaded and her chest felt like it had run out of air all over again. She'd already done this, she had already looked it up, she'd seen the news articles... The police had shown her countless more at the station when she had been there... Connor O'Roarke. 4 years old when he was last seen by his family... 4 years old when he was taken... kidnapped.

Taken at 4. It hurt her heart more than she thought possible... and to know she had met him at age 13... and the truth wasn't out there until he was 16? There were no words, no end to what she was feeling. Buffy cried as she dove all into it... looking at everything she could... the photos, the stories, his dad-his real dad-on TV many times in interviews and press releases... this man begging for his son to be returned unharmed to him... and not just when it happened but it seemed any chance he got he was still out there, looking, hoping, begging, wishing for his child.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she shut the laptop down, curled in a ball and just cried until sleep came for her.

* * *

Buffy's green eyes nearly popped out of her head when she found Angel O'Roarke on the other side of her dark red door. She didn't even get a simple greeting out, she just stared in shock for a moment then the very large man - much larger than she had pictured or she supposed realized - stepped toward her and gave her the tightest hug she'd ever had in her lifetime. His large arms lifted her small body off the ground as he tearfully thanked her.

When she was back on her own two feet she smiled a little at him then bigger over at Connor who was standing off the side. She wordlessly asked him to come closer, her eyes tearing up even more as she held her arms opened and the young man easily came over to her and hugged her as well. "Hey, kiddo," she told him, her hands in his shaggy brown hair.

Buffy noticed the police car at the corner and nodded at them as well before asking if Connor and his father wanted to come inside.


End file.
